Heidi

Mom, desperately trying to get the health thing right! I started this blog so that I can pass along all the great things that I learn everyday on damage control for our wonderful bodies. It is tough to keep up sometimes with all the things going on in our daily lives so hopefully some of the helpful hints that I provide can make your life easier and healthier. I welcome your comments and tips as well! I am a vegetarian, animal rights advocate and avid animal rescuer.

I am excited to share with you some of the best information that I have found on food and health by Christopher Warden, New York City Fitness Professional and author of the Fitness Philosopher blog. Whatever Christopher says about health, fitness and weight loss I listen. He has helped me immensely with getting my body on track. Enjoy!

Common Questions About Carbohydrates, Part II

Finding information about "what to eat" and "how to be healthy" is easy; knowing what info is trustworthy and quality is another matter altogether.The topic of carbohydrates illustrates a perfect example of this.So much is written about them, but millions remain confused, if not misinformed.

And that's the reason for publishing this Q & A.

Part I of Carbohydrate Q & A focused predominantly on defining carbohydrate and its components -- sugar, starch and fiber.Here, we'll focus on a few of the questions more commonly asked about carbohydrates, including which types to eat. . . and why.Please note that "carbohydrate" as described in this article refers to all digestible starches/sugars, whether the food source is considered "healthy" (sweet potato, piece of fruit, brown rice, etc.) or "unhealthy" (soda, cookies, candy, etc.).

·We're eating more sugar now than ever before (from an estimated 4 lbs/yr at the turn of the 20th century, to 150 lbs/yr today).

And all of this has society at large experiencing astronomical levels of obesity and chronic disease. That's what's "bad."

Are there exceptions to the kinds of carbohydrates I can eat?How about to when I can eat them?

In terms of achieving fat loss and reducing risk of developing chronic disease, there's little doubt that the best carbs for you are those with low starch/sugar content.Now, if the thought of living predominantly on leafy greens, berries and fibrous veggies makes you want to scream, here are a few things to consider before deciding to go heavy on starch or sugar:

•Your genetics.If you have a family history linked to ailments like obesity, heart disease or diabetes, you're likely better off leaning toward low starch/low sugar carb choices.

•Your current activity level.John Berardi, respected nutritionist and strength coach talks about the idea of "earning your starch."Essentially, if you're going to eat starchier carbs, do it early in the day or in conjunction with strength training/other rigorous activity.These are the times when your body is most metabolically active and/or when muscle is demanding fuel, helping to ensure that the starch you do eat is put to good use by the body.

•Your current state of health/ The amount of fat you're trying to lose.If you're living with illness such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension or cancer, you really ought to consider keeping sugar and starch ingestion to a minimum - if you eat it at all.Same goes if you've got significant body fat to lose.

The point here is that for the sake of your health and performance, you really have to make a diligent attempt at consistently eating reduced amounts of sugar and starch.Why?Because insulin - the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels - has been shown to play a role in obesity as well as many of the chronic diseases that afflict us today. Controlling sugar intake = regulating insulin = less body fat/reduced risk for chronic illness.

Are all carbs created equal?

No.Aside from differences in nutrient content (vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, etc.), the most obvious difference between foods is the amount of digestible starches and sugars you get.

How do you figure out the sugar content the food?

Look at the food's nutrition information, paying attention to the "Total Carbohydrate" value (measured in grams).Subtract the grams of fiber from the grams of total carbohydrate, and the remaining number is the amount of starch/sugar you're getting per serving.It goes without saying that, if you're trying to keep your sugar intake low, you'll have to either choose foods with naturally low sugar content OR reduce the portion size.If you're hungry, of course, I'd suggest choosing the foods "low on the sugar scale" so you can eat to your stomach's content.

Can you give specific examples of "good, low-in-sugar carbohydrates" to eat?

Rather than take up space here, I'll refer you to the blog post where I answered this particular question. . . HERE.

I knew that your body could use protein for energy. However, I was led to believe carbohydrates are the better source.What's the deal here?

While it's true that carbohydrates are commonly considered the nutrient that "provides energy" to the body, I'd contend that protein is the better source (for us) for these reasons:

• Protein consumption is essential for our survival.Carbohydrate consumption is not.Is it not logical to reason that if you "can't live without it," it's "better?"

• Protein is more nutrient dense, so you get "more bang for your nutrient buck."Put another way, because protein has so much nutritional value, you can eat less to get more of what the body requires, whether it be energy or a particular amino acid. (Example: To ingest 65 grams of protein, you could eat 8 ounces of elk meat OR you could eat 13 heads of lettuce or 56 bananas or 261 apples or 33 slices of bread. (from The Protein Power Lifeplan, p.9))

• Protein consumption doesn't contribute to insulin release like carbohydrate does.So, with protein you get the benefit of energy and nutrition while also regulating blood sugar and insulin levels. (which promotes reduced body fat, which decreases risk of disease . . . )

How do I keep sugar/starch consumption to a minimum?

A few suggestions:

• Consume fresh, whole foods (especially of the leafy green, fibrous veggie, berry varieties) as often as possible.If you can't eat it fresh, frozen's usually the next best option.

• Minimize consumption of processed foods.

•Stay away from low fat foods.To replace fat content, sugar is often added to the food source. So, ironically, a "low fat" food has more potential to fatten you than the "regular" version. . . all because of the sugar added.

Of course, this isn't an exhaustive list of the questions faced by fitness professionals, but hopefully it gives you some good direction.If you need clarification or have any further questions, please feel free to write me at www.christopherwarden.com.Alternatively, the following resources can give you great nutritional guidance (or satisfy your curiosity):

He is brilliant. I can see why you listen to what he says. Thank you for sharing that article! I didn't realize that it is better to cut down on sugar if you are obese or trying to lose weight instead of eating "low fat" foods.

Great info. Sometimes I forget how common this knowledge is, in fact, not. For those of us who spend more time researching health related issues I think basic info like this tends to be so common, we forget that other people don't really understand it as well. I personally didn't know the difference until just a couple of years ago!

Thanks for answering my questions Chris. Since your first post on carbs I have re-evaluated the amounts I eat. I've now cut down significantly on the amount I eat during training days and when I do eat carbs I try to go for the healthier options (fruit, vegetables, wholemeal bread, wholemeal rice, wholemeal pasta etc).

Also I thought I would let you know that your link in the section 'Does Low Carb = No Carb?' isn't working for me.

Very good info on carbs. To sum it up, eat carbs before a workout, eat more protein after that. Avoid processed food as much as possible and focus on healthy carbs like fruits and vegetables. Cool! : )

So how do you know if you need a low-carb or a high-carb diet? In our practice we use a system called "nutritional typing" to make this distinction. If you are not familiar with metabolic typing, you would benefit by taking the free condensed version of the nutritional type test. The test is a quick way to help you jump-start your implementation of nutritional typing.

Good info that really simplifies info on carbs. Like you said, people tend to relate carbs to energy, when protein really has about the same energy content. In fact, the most energy comes from fat. Really good post, thank you.

My Blog List

Click Here To Feed Homeless Animals For Free!

Disclaimer to keep the lawyers at bay

I’m not a doctor, therapist, nutritionist or anything of the like(would probably be nice but I'm not) . Anything I’ve written here is to tell you about my experiences and what has worked for me or general information. It isn’t advice. I’m not telling you to do any of these things. I just want to pass on what has helped me and hope that you enjoy this blog.